She Hired Us... Then Broke Us!

Hosts Emily and Vidya dive into the highs and lows of wedding planning- sharing stories from one of their first weddings together. Cultural gems from Indian ceremonies, and the emotional dynamics of working with brides. Their candid convo unpacks vendor communication, lessons from tough bridezilla moments, and how collaboration shapes an unforgettable bridal experience. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Hey beauties, welcome to the very first full episode of Contour Convos. I'm your host, Vidya, founder of Red Lettuce Artistry, your bridal beauty whisperer, glam therapist, and now your go-to girl for the wedding world's prettiest problems. So today, I just want to remind everybody, this is our first full episode. So this is gonna be y'all's backstage pass to all things wedding glam, vendor drama, and the bridal beauty behind the scenes. So today I have someone so freaking special on our show today. It's Emily. She's my right hand, my bridal ride or die. Um, she is the first artist that I actually onboarded to Red Lotus Artistry back in 2018. And she's just been my everything. We're kicking off today's story with it, wasn't our first wedding, actually. It was one of our first, I think I want to say emotional roller coaster booking that we did today. There's a lot in this one, guys. There's ego, there's drama, there's even working tears. So buckle up because this one is a juicy one. All right. So I want everybody to give me uh wherever you're listening in the car or in your home, in your living room, a round of applause for Emily.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Hello, everyone. I'm so excited to be here. I this is such an honor to be the first one on the show. But you're right. I feel like it's just fitting for both of us to give this full experience to person. Right. Amazing.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Yeah. So I think before we dive into the story about our the topic of choice today, the wedding that we've chosen to share with the world. Um, I I want to give everybody, because I know that this isn't gonna be our first or last episode together. So let's give everybody a little bit of background of, you know, you know what I like call it, like our our love story. We have our own little love story of how we met, what your first impressions are were of me, red lotus artistry, what we do, and a little bit about your journeys.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

Right. Okay, so let's just start by how I met Vithia. It was actually a different vendor that I met across the way of me starting, you know, getting into the wedding industry. And she was like, You're a good fit for a friend that is looking for team members to join the wedding industry with her. Like the you're talking about Emily. I mean, you're talking about Maha, right? Meha. Yes. She was the one who introduced me to Vitya. Um, I guess like the first place, she called me up and she's like, let's go to have this meeting or like meet each other in person so I can like see what you're like, and blah blah blah. Like she's like, meet me up at McAllister. So I get there and I'm like, okay, my first impressions is I have no idea what I'm getting into. I've never been interviewed in any such way. I didn't even realize it was gonna be like interview style. I just was like two girls meeting, like that's kind of how it felt. And then eventually she's like, All right, well, this is what I do. It's like I'm in the Indian wedding industry, and she like explained the different events that comes with it and all these things. And I'm like, like taken aback because it's like, what? Like, I've only done normal American weddings type things, or even Hispanic ones, and it's just one day thing, and it just opened my whole entire universe to something so different that I never knew about. So that was a very interesting experience. Were you did you feel like bombarded? Like over were you overwhelmed? It was very overwhelming. And the thing that you don't know is that I actually, as soon as I left that place, like as soon as we left that, you were like, All right, well, you're gonna have to sign this contract, and there's so many things that blah blah blah. And I'm like, oh my god, was it too serious? Super serious, you have no idea. And so I like the part that you didn't know is that I went home and I called my parents, and I'm like, hey, like, you know, I've been doing this for so long. Why did I call my parents? But I called them and I'm like, that you know, like this is this sounds great, sounds like an amazing opportunity, like multiple events, you know, aka more money, more more like work. I bit my schedule's gonna be busy, like I'm gonna be booked and everything. And it was exciting, but also scary along the way because it's just like it felt intense, yeah, in a great way. Like, I felt like my life was about to change.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

My personality is just like that, but I also think that I am a big believer that I think that's why you're like my yin to my yang, because like I'm just so obnoxiously loud and I talk so much, and overall I'm an aggressive personality, and you're the exact opposite. And I still say you tell me to shut up, but you are my angel to my devil.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

Yeah, you do say that a lot. I am a lot more of like the nicer side, but we we do fit like it's like a puzzle piece almost. Yeah, we we fit with each other.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

The missing puzzle piece. Oh my god, you're my missing puzzle piece.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Oh, that's so cute.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

That is so cute.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Um, so yeah, you her selling point was definitely like the wedding industry. I had no idea about it, and it was different, but grand, and it felt great. And like you said, you were building this team and how it's like sisterhood and all these things. Like it was a really good selling point. So that like pitch yeah was great. Well, I'm glad my elevator could work back in back then. I didn't sleep, I I didn't think I knew what I was doing, but clearly I was doing something right. I didn't even know that I was like your your first one on the team. Like I you might have said it, but still, like it just felt like officially official, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

So, what's been your favorite part about working with Red Lotus Artistry as a bridal artist and first master artist?

SPEAKER_00 5:51

Right. That was another selling point for me. Was like, I knew you semi-hired, you know, things because that's what I was used to, but it you definitely mention and push the like fact that you wanted to build someone up to be a master artist. And that was something that like you were like, you're gonna learn draping, you're gonna learn makeup, professional makeup, like not just regular makeup. We're going high and beyond. So I was like, okay, this is like I'm I'm already good, right? Because I've been doing this for a while, but it just felt like it was gonna be a step up higher than what I was going to, like what I was already used to. Yeah. Um, so yeah, RLA definitely was like, I was building a step forward, a step higher. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

So would you say that's the favorite part though? Like leveling up in your expertise was your favorite part, or was has has it been something else?

SPEAKER_00 6:40

No, also like the sisterhood was another selling point too, where I just felt like it was really building a sisterhood and it's it's come to fruition today. It's everything you said in that meeting, we're here. Yeah, like we're doing it. Yeah, like even this podcast, like I feel like you didn't exactly say the words, but like you knew that there was gonna be more stepping stones coming.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Yeah, I definitely am a big believer that there's something bigger and better in this line of work that we're doing. I always I mean, since then, this was 2018. Emily's talking about our story from 2018, and that was like the summer of 2018. So it's literally been like what seven full years because it's summer 2025 now. And absolutely, like I was really am very confident in bringing building a sisterhood and not just like a makeup team. Like, I'm not interested in just having a makeup artist to come and do the makeup and leave, and then I pay you, and that's just the transaction. It just seems too informal. Like, I want it to be something like I want I I am proud of my girls when we're done with booking. I leave with my heart glowing when we leave from the booking. Even at the end of the day, even if the artist, I mean sorry, the clientele doesn't leave us like a review and stuff. My review for myself is my team. Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:57

At least we know we did great.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Like we came together, we knew where we went above and beyond. Right. The clients may never see it. Yeah, especially in the South Asian community, but that's a whole episode on its own. Um, yeah, I think sisterhood is really important to me. And I I'm I'm I'm glad I'm actually I'm very happy to find out that you feel that there is a sisterhood here. A lot has happened since then.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

A lot has I mean, that was a long time ago, too.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Yeah, 2018, then COVID happened, then I got pregnant. And that's why the podcast kept getting pushy back, but it's okay. We won't talk about that. Exactly. But okay, so moving on. Um the first, I think I just want to talk touch a little bit about our first real wedding together. And it was monumental in so many ways, but I know it was very monumental for you also. Yes. So let's talk about that for just a little bit. It was actually Arle's one Arle's like first big booking. I mean, we're talking about brides like six or seven events. I mean, and it and it was a destination wedding. I mean, it wasn't like Mexico or like, you know, it was it was exactly it was San Antonio. We had to travel to go somewhere, so there's a lot more logistics involved. So yeah, it was definitely something that was exciting to be going on, and it was at the right time because that's when Emily joined the team. And maybe I think we put it together like for us. What do you remember thinking, like, shit, this isn't just about makeup?

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Was it at that wedding? Definitely. Well, first of all, I got there and yeah, it was just totally different because it's like you get there and it's like, all right, we're going to the first event. You're just gonna watch, or you're gonna see what's happening.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

What what what are two things that stuck out for you during that destination wedding, Emily?

SPEAKER_00 9:43

There we go. Yeah, that what was it? Okay, so the first part that was like monumental for me was when I you're telling me that there's no breakfast or that there's breakfast in the room, free breakfast, like a yellow breakfast. That's what we call it now. This is the staple name for Gujrati breakfast, by the way, y'all. It's is it the yellow breakfast? Right. We always ask that is it the yellow breakfast, which is nasto. Yes, that's the word that I've been like that. Along the way, it's an another side point. Side note is along the way, I've been learning a little bit of Gujrati. So yes, you have. You've been even tricky, those aunties for it. I yes, I do. It's so fun, anyways. We we get to Nosto, and we're you know, I grab a little bit of everything because I have no idea what it is, but you know, American breakfast is like sweet or like savory, whatever. I get to it, I get the little biscuits and all the things and put it on my plate, and I take the first bite of the like rice pudding type thing, and it's so spicy, and I don't like spicy food. And also in the morning, it's kind of woman. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Okay, is it uh it's probably called uh macay no chevro, like corn, tomato corn.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

It's kind of corny.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Yeah, that's yummy. It's sweet and spicy.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Yeah, I think it was sweet and spicy, but for me, like as soon as I hit my thumb handle. Nice. So that was like a culture shock for me.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

And that was like a little intro of like, you know, like being in that Indian environment, which is different for a Hispanic girl that's just never, you know, gone out of her culture really. Done this, yeah. So that was like a shock, but also super memorable. And then like the second point was when I got to see the Vidae, right? It's called the Vidae. When the bride is saying goodbye to her family, the nephew and like the brothers, the sisters, they're all kind of like united and they're all crying, everyone's crying, and they're like sending her off and stuff. And it was just so like it like stuck with me. Like I'm seeing that that was like a snippet of like the events that I saw in the Indian wedding industry that I feel like I cherish a lot too. Like it's so many, there's so many steps, and I know you like Indians, anyone who's like has that culture is like I hate this. And blah blah blah. And I'm like, I see the bigger picture of how like deep and meaningful every event is.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Yeah, like yes, it's so sad, and we're always crying. Like, I think you and I are always in a corner, somewhere is even Yeah. The whole the whole crown was crying.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

Like related or not, because it is so sentimental. Just walked in a room and this is what's happening. I mean, I knew it was a wedding going on, right? But me not knowing the language, just seeing it, like I knew what was doing, what was happening. It's like it's the send-off. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

I think the other I think another thing that was important for me to share also from that wedding was for me, it was a for me, it was very stressful in that this was probably one of the first weddings that I had to get. I mean, there was what, five of us? Yeah, I think so. Five, six artists.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

And you were my only like real R. And even then you hadn't joined RLA fully yet. You were just auditioning. Yeah, it was like the audition. Yeah, because I gave you someone important, the bride's mom. Yeah, but I also gave you like not too many people because I wanted you to be, I wanted you to authentically be who you are as an artist and not be stressed with everything else going on. I needed to see that you were gonna be able to successfully take on the shenanigans, the chaos, the fun, the culture that comes along with an Indian wedding. And this is the first one, and this was a big one. So for me, I'm just like, like, is everything is everything is everything going good? Everything's going great? Because especially that wedding, because we were working with a renowned wedding planner, right? It was a dream team, it was a great dream team. I mean, the DJ, the wedding planner, the photo video team, everything. It was like I was RLA was being auditioned as a whole, right? Can RLA do this? Can RLA pull this off? So for me, I wanted to make sure I was setting you up for success and not failure. Right. I could have easily given you three, four additional people, but I didn't want to do that to you. So that was that was really important. And then we were able to like showcase all of um the bride's looks and everything. Printed those looks like that. We went together to do that. You could have gone to your room and went to sleep. Oh yeah. Or you could have came with me to Walmart to print the stuff. I remember that. You are right to come with me, and that's when I knew. That's when I knew you'd be my ip. Yep, yeah. That was that was it. So, okay, so, anyways, let's let's kind of segue into what's bringing us here today. Everybody is here to steer the tea, spill the tea, learn the lessons that we had to learn eons ago. And this was probably like a second or third, I don't know, I can't keep count, but it was it was a few weddings in after you we joined together. Still fairly new, though. Yes, fairly new. Um, and yeah, the wedding that had me in tears. Did you cry at that wedding? Did I cry? Yeah, no, but you have cried at other ones. I have cried. There has been other, and then those are maybe future episodes. Right, future episodes. Yeah. Someone maybe cried. But this one had me in tears, and it was, yeah, this is why you're here, guys. Like this is the one where we're spilling the tea. We want to kind of go over what happened from both perspectives, Emily's and mine, and kind of take out of there, deconstruct it, gossip about it the good way. Of course, I want to remind you that everything is anonymous. We're not gonna disclose any brides names, vendor names, location names, hotel names, nothing. Everything's gonna be anonymous here because we want everyone to share their stories with us. The whole point of this podcast is for people to share their stories with us and us share our stories too, so we can all learn from it and just do better. Like for future brides, future grooms, future mother-in-laws, future mother of the bride, like and us vendors, all of us as a wedding industry, this is all for us to just do better. So let's just get into it. We also elevated a lot after this experience, and we'll talk about that. A lot of learning lessons for sure. So, okay, I think the first thing we want to set up the bye. What was it like going into this whole situation?

SPEAKER_00 16:00

So, first impressions of this ride. Um, we definitely had multiple meetings before whatever happened happened, right? So we built a relationship with her, we did her trial, everything went amazing. This was pre-COVID. So we also did a consultation. Now we do them virtual, but at this moment in time, we would go to We did it in person. The client's house is where we went this specific time. Yes, we had a great time. We met the mom. We built a relationship. We built a relationship with her. She was great, just like any other bride that we've ever met. It was all it all started great. We did her first event, and after the first event, she left happy. She walked out of the room. Our first event was uh Mendy, and then right after the Mendy, we left. So then the next morning, we came back, we arrived on time. I get there, at least this is my point of view. I get there, and Vidya comes in with me, and this is before the bride walks in. We're just setting up and making sure everything's in place before she walks in, and she's like, I have to tell you something. I'm like, what? She's like, the bride called me on the way here, and she just yelled at me. And she's like, Oh, I forgot to mention that at the beginning, at the first event, um, she kind of showed us a uh little what is a cake topper.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

It was a 3D cake to 3D cake topper, which is so cool. Yeah, we'll do referrals. I need to find out what company that was because that was badass. But go on.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

This cake topper, she showed it to us, she's like, was excited about it, and she's like, hey, like, you know, I I got this, but the only thing that sucks about it is that I look kind of green. Uh her dress was blue, right? And it kind of smeared. It was like a porcelain uh like figurine, whatever, and it looked just like them, but it sure her skin was kind of blue. Yeah, you know, being who we are, we like to go above and beyond for our clients. And I just looked at it and I'm like, I think this is fixable, and I give it to Vidya, and she's like, Yeah, we can put some little makeup on it and some blush, and we can color correct it, and it is gonna look dress just fine. So we did it, and Vidya put like a funny little thing, a post on Instagram saying, like, you know, we do a story. It was a story, it wasn't even a post. She's like, We put a uh makeup on the toppers too, like ha ha ha, like it was so funny and cute. Yeah, just a little jokey joke, right? And so the next morning when I see her, she's like, she was really upset the fact that I posted that photo of the cake topper and how we fixed it, and she wanted me to take it down.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

Which, by the way, like just kind of inserting myself here, Red Lotus Artistry was not famous in 18 when this happened. Like, I probably got less than a hundred impressions on this, like this post. Okay, like so she's complaining about so many people saw it, which I should have felt proud about, but I actually was just kind of like, why are you so upset? Like, literally, 25 people saw this, and 20 20 of those 25 are people are at the wedding and are your close family were probably. I don't know, like not really sure what's so bad about that.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

I don't know. I guess because she looked a little like Hulk because her skin was green.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

I don't but we did we showed the aftermath. All I posted was look, we even do makeup on dolls. Yeah, that's literally what I said. If you didn't even say cake topper, I'll have to pull it up because it'll be my archives, right? Uh yeah. It anyways, but yeah, she was very, very upset. I mean, when I tell you guys three o'clock in the morning, I was driving to the venue and I was getting chewed out from this bride, and I'm keeping it collected and calm and professional, and I apologize profusely. I took it down right away, but at that moment, that bride had decided that nope, red lotus artistry. Relay is gonna go into timeout. So she asked or requested or demanded, whichever one you can use, whatever imagination tells you. We were the only vendor that was not allowed to post anything any longer with any regard to her wedding. We were the only vendor. So photo, video, DJ, everybody else was posting all kinds of things about their wedding, but I was not supposed to. I was not allowed to, and I I honored that.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

Yep, we did honor it. Uh another thing that she yelled at you about was how we were not there. She so her event that we did her got her ready for was her Mendy. So obviously, with the Mendy, she can't like really touch or whatever. And since we did her hair and makeup, she couldn't take it down herself, which technically I believe your bridesmates or mother should be doing. Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

I mean, this has never been a thing. This is 2018. Nobody was like staying back to like it's just your friends do it. Yeah, or you get somebody to help you auntie, something the whole world is there for your wedding, like for you. Yeah, so why was it so hard?

SPEAKER_00 20:49

So, anyways, to explain the story. Yeah, she she was upset about that. Also, I guess she came knocking in the room that she got for us. That was another like side part, is that she got us a room to get her ready in. Um, and then she is she was like, I guess her idea was that we were gonna stay in there. So we weren't in there, but we still got to there in the morning on time and everything. And she just assumed that we'd be there at her disposal at any point in time when she's needing us to take her hair down and come and do all the things. So she was upset because we were not in the room.

SPEAKER_01 21:25

So yeah, to and to give the back backstory of that, the bride, we at that time did not, and and still, we if if if it's a DFW bride, we're not gonna require them to book us a hotel. Like, we're gonna they can use that money towards a cake topper. But I mean, jokes aside, we we didn't require it. But she was like, you know, but it'll be good to have you guys there so that way y'all don't have to drive in the morning. She made it seem like she it was more of a caring thing for us. And I was like, Well, that's so nice of you. We really appreciate it. And you and I were respectably living at that time, it was about a thirty. Minute drive to get to this venue. So it was really nice. We were like, oh, that's so sweet of her. When we got to that booking, is when we learned that the room, the regular hotel room, which is not that big. It's just like two beds and then one little desk and the bathroom. Like it's just a regular hotel room. And she wanted us to get her and her family ready in that room. And it'd be the room that Emily and I stay in.

SPEAKER_00 22:25

Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

From a professional perspective, let me just paint the picture. We slept in it the night before. The beds are undone. Then the photo video team come in to do all the getting ready shots. And you can see our suitcases, you can our at least bags, luggage. You can tell that the room has been lived in. And you don't really do that. It doesn't look right. Right. So from a professional perspective, we you and I had decided that you know what? If this is the room she wants to designate as her getting ready room, then we'll go home. We'll sleep in our beds. I would understand if we didn't show up on time the next morning. We did. We showed up ahead of time. We're always on time. Right. And now time is means ahead of time.

SPEAKER_00 23:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

And our timelines are also, I'll always outline that. We were there on time, and she was just kind of like, Well, no, I got this room for you. So you were supposed to be here to deconstruct me. That was her requirement. But it was never vocalized to us. We didn't know.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

We did not know. It's not in the contract. It's not something that we normally do for every bride.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

No, it's not anything anybody does for a bride. It's not even it's not even something that we thought about even adding as a service for Red Lotus Artistry. Like we are done getting you ready and then we're done. That's the that's normal. That's the whole thing. You know, so we we did that. And so she was very upset when she got done with her Mindy event and she came up to her room and nobody was there to take off her bobby pins and safety pins and take off her makeup and all that, all those things. And at that time, I will be 100% honest, like I I could not wrap around my head how a person just assumed we would be there at midnight to do that for her. I couldn't, I couldn't wrap my head around it. Yeah. I mean today, 2025, and we'll get to that. There's it's a different story, but we didn't know boundaries back then, and uh we also didn't know what we could have done to level up our business. But you know, those were all red flags, and this happened after the very first event. We haven't even started the second event yet. We still were walking into the second event, which is the PT slash Haldy. It's the event where we the bride and groom get all yellow fied. And so this is the very first big event post the Mindy event. So all this that we just talked about is just after the first event. Right. We haven't even started the second event. We have four other events with this woman.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

Yes. After she cussed her out in the morning, yes, yes, right before we get there, right?

SPEAKER_01 24:55

So we do the BT, we do the event, we get her ready for, and she looks beautiful. The mom looks beautiful, she looks beautiful, whoever else we do, it looks gorgeous. Mom, sweetheart. And she literally is walking out the door to go to her BT event, and she left that door wide open and she turned around with those eyes. I'll never forget those eyes. They they were very, very vicious, I will say. And in Gudrati, she said a few words that weren't very nice.

SPEAKER_00 25:26

Yeah, just my POV. I don't know. I don't know the language very well. So this whole time, I'm just like I'm watching this happen, right? Like I see her leaving, she's not stomping out, she's not doing any of that. Like it kind of it took me by surprise. I turn around, she's still at the door, and she's like kind of like she has a mean face and she's just kind of going at it, and she's like not really yelling, but like very assertive and stuff. And I'm looking at Vidya, I'm like, you know, looking, bouncing my head at both sides, like, what the is going on? And I just see Vidya in tears, and I'm just like, what?

SPEAKER_01 25:59

Like the whole time I'm like you're the one that reminded me of Gudrati. I don't even remember that because I just see red when I think back to that event, like that time, it it was yeah, a big blur because I just couldn't believe I was getting cussed out. Right by a from this client, from this client who turned friend, turned like amazing bride, turned like you went in chalk, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:25

Interesting. TSD. Yeah, big time. Well finally close the door, and I just look at Vidya and she just starts crying even more, and I'm like, I don't even know how to console you. First of all, it was like one of the first times I'm like like at a wedding with you, just me and you. Yes, and I'm just like, I don't know what to do at this point. She's waiting. Like you couldn't sing like this. What happened? And I'm like, what did she say? Like, what's going on? And she's just crying, crying and crying, and like I'm just like, what's happening? Like, I was so confused. And then she finally explained, and I'm like, Oh, I would never guess. Because she was not so nice when she was sitting there with you. Right. Like, she looked amazing, and she looked amazing, like she looked so happy. Like, you gave we always do this with the brides. We give her the mirror, we let them see it, like tell they tell you if they like it, if they don't, what changes to make all the kinds of things, and she didn't seem like you can feel an energy sometimes, like yeah, when they're like upset, but she didn't seem upset at all.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

No, she was I will say she was very good at just like keeping her emotions or anger switch. Yeah, she was just holding on to the anger and she held it on to the very end. Yeah. To communicate with me how disgusted she was with us or with me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:40

And I just feel like it just wasn't kind of fair too, because like, why not say it in English if she was that upset? Like, then I would understand what's happening too.

SPEAKER_01 27:48

Also, what made it even harder, I think, was the entire groom side. The groom himself, the groom's sister, and the groom's mom. They're all family friends. I grew up with them, yeah. And so it was like a double thing because I'm like, dude, my friend is marrying this person who's being so unkind to me. And she booked me wholly because I'm I was his friend. So it was really confusing. It was such a mindfuck. It was some mindfuck, even on my end, yeah. Yeah. And so I think whenever that happened, and she just slammed the door, she said whatever she had to say, she had her s. I didn't say anything. You didn't say I didn't say anything because I was in complete and utter shock. She was in utter shock. And she just slammed the door and left. Yep, cried like someone. I mean, she basically like that was a bully moment.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

That was a bully moment.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

That was a bully moment. And at that point, I had to console myself. Emily helped me console, get consoled, and then we got a hold of the planner, which I have to give such huge kudos to that wedding planner. She was amazing. Um, her team was amazing. And I we approached her and was like, hey, so this is just event two that hasn't even started yet. And this is what's transpired, and this is how she just spoke to me, like two minutes ago or five minutes ago, or whatever it was. And she handled it very, very well. I remember her handling it so well. She was like, I am she first she validated me. She was like, I'm so sorry, and I'm so sorry that happened to you. Like, nobody should speak to anybody like that. Um, which I really commend her for because I know being a wedding planner is like the single most difficult job to have, which I commend all the wedding planners out there. Like, round of applause, like seriously, round of applause. Yes, yes, because without you guys, like literally these weddings would not happen. And you know, people just don't understand the importance of a wedding wedding planner, which which is another episode. But you know, this this wedding planner, she was like, You should not have been spoken to that like that. She was like, What game plan can we come up with? What do you want to do, Vidya? Do you I will understand if you don't want to finish the rest of her book events, which we still had what, four more, three more, yeah. We're three more events. And I was like, you know, and that on that spot, she put me on the spot. I've never been in this situation before. And I I don't know, did I even ask you, Emily? I don't remember.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

I don't, I mean, it it wasn't even a question about money anymore. It wasn't. It was just more like, you know, your peace of mind and you're like, no, I'm gonna power through and finish this off. Like hopefully she figures herself out.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

I mean, at the end of the day, she paid me for the service, everything was already paid for. Right. Then and also we thought about it. Like the wedding planner would now have to figure out who's gonna come to this venue to take care of the said bride if we had just walked out.

SPEAKER_00 30:31

And that's not good on the name either.

SPEAKER_01 30:33

No, and we're we're building a brand, we're building a company, we're building a like an empire, and this is you know, bad things happen. So we decided to muster through. We decided, you know what, we're gonna put up my big girl pennies on. I'm gonna put my emotions aside because it's not about me, it is about the bride. It's her wedding. It's not easy being in a wedding, and and she was she was a type of persona that was very heavily involved. I think you say type A.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

Yeah, she was type A, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 31:00

She had a wedding planner, but she was very type A. She was very in control and very in the know of what's going on or all around her. So we decided to muster through and we did. We did the rest of the events. Um, and I can't say much too. I don't really remember to be 100% honest, like how her attitude was towards me and all that. And all honestly, that doesn't even matter.

SPEAKER_00 31:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:21

Like, all that does not matter. But the point is we did it, you know. Now, what did we learn from this? What did I learn from this? I think the number one thing that I can with humility admit and say all these years later, we can laugh about it, which is excellent. But also, I can I can sit here and say, you know what? I did make a mistake. I made a mistake that the bride had booked a room for us to stay in that night, and we decided, you and I, that we wouldn't stay there. I should have communicated that to her. I should have told the wedding partner.

SPEAKER_00 31:50

Yeah, that's the truth.

SPEAKER_01 31:52

Thinking back, I should have just been a hey, you know what? There's just not enough room. We want the room to stay neat and clean. We're just gonna go home, but we'll be back in time for the for the next event. Like, don't worry, don't stress. I would have done that. Today I would have done that.

SPEAKER_00 32:03

Right. That open communication.

SPEAKER_01 32:05

So I did fail at that. Learning lesson, huge learning lesson. Yep. The other learning lesson. And we added that that what the bridal clause? The bridezilla clause. Yeah. Yes, this wedding. We finished the wedding. We did finish the reception. It was a Saturday, I think Monday morning. I called it.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

I believe you called your lawyer, right?

SPEAKER_01 32:24

Yes, Monday morning. I called my lawyer and I said, Hey, this is what happened. Um, I gave a shorter version than what you're getting right now, but I was like, this is all what we like endured this weekend. And I want to protect myself and I want to protect my team. I'm going forward, if something like this happen, I want to make sure that you know it's outlined correctly and professionally and legally the correct way in our agreement. And said lawyer added a whole bright, like they named it. It wasn't even me. They named it. The lawyer named it the Bridezilla Clause. We still have it in our agreement today to protect us from unrealistic expectations that are not communicated to us. And which comes back to the second lesson is communication. Communication is so important. I mean, we did it on our end when it comes to all things beauty. We didn't do it when it came time to wedding stuff. So yeah, I mean, we weren't, I don't, I wouldn't say we were overworked. I wouldn't say, you know, anything else, but the two things definitely that happened were there were unreal expectations from the vendors, as in Emily and I, to stay behind and deconstruct the bride. And then there was a miscommunication. She did not vocalize to us that hey, would you guys be here this evening? Like, you know, at midnight, the Mindy party is finishing at 11. We'll take some pictures. I'll be up at 12 o'clock at midnight. Can y'all help me disconstruct? And I can 100% guarantee you I would have been the first person to be like, yes. Well, we also didn't have very many boundaries at that time. So we're just kind of saying yes to everything. We still almost say yes to everything, but we're just set ourselves up for success because we know the questions to ask. But back then, we I still wholeheartedly believe you and I would have even driven our asses from wherever we lived to do that for her because she asked or yes, or stayed in the room, rested in the room till midnight or whatever, not open up the sheets and everything. But it was it was assumed that we would be there because she got the room for us, but it wasn't really for us. It was a room for her. And so from a client's perspective, I think the I think for us, like it was that the communication, not letting the bride and the our planner know that we're leaving, and then the bride having unrealistic expectations are also not letting us know what their wishes were, but also just you know, let us know what it is that you want. If you don't tell us, it's it's not gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 34:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:41

And then you're setting yourselves up for failure. So future brides, remember this. Remember, like, you know, asking more questions than little questions is only doing you a disservice. Who cares if you think you're bothering your vendor? That's the whole point you booked us. Like, bother us. I tell my brides, like, bother us, especially the week of the wedding. If you have any questions, I don't care if it's two o'clock in the morning or three o'clock in the afternoon, just shoot me the text message, email, voice message, video message, DM, whatever you want to do, just get it to me. You have a question in your head, just shoot it. Take it off your chest, take it off your head. And when I see it, I'll respond to you. I think that was the biggest takeaway for sure. But also the the the big thing out of this that also a forward seven years, we actually do now offer the After Glow Lounge experience.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Yep. We segueed that dramatic expert experience into creating this new experience for our brides.

SPEAKER_01 35:39

Yes. And it is for it's only for our brides who like will you know, book a room for us to have our R and R in. Not anything to do with hair and makeup services, but if there's an actual room for us to rest and relax in, we will be there in your bridal suite to undo your hair, undo your langa, undo your dubatta, your sari, get out all the bobby pins, give you a head massage, give you a facial massage, take off all your makeup. We will give you the most ultimate relaxation experience to set you up for success for the next morning, wedding day. That is a part of our package now. So that is the I definitely will say that thank you to said bride for giving us the idea. Um, it did take us a time to bring it to fruition, but here we are.

SPEAKER_00 36:23

Yeah. We learned to create negative experiences or and we made them into something positive. Something beautiful. I mean, beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 36:32

If you look at our Red Lotus RC reviews, the last two or three, because we just started this, guys. Like we just started this like a couple months. Our first bride that experienced that was in April. And she left her review, I think, within 24 hours of experience, and she said her favorite part was that. Not everything else, not the six events we got her glammed up for, but where we glammed her down, and then we did it again for another bride. And it was also her favorite thing from you know this past weekend. I would definitely say it's something that's gonna take a while to get on the map and put us, you know, stand, stand, stand us out in comparison to our competition, our friendly competition, but I know that it's gonna definitely set us apart from our competition.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:13

It's different, nobody does it. Yeah. At the moment, you should see the video. I have so much behind the scenes of us doing this. Oh, yeah. And you should see the eyes rolling to the back of their head. They're like, I love you. Like, if you didn't already love me, now you're definitely gonna love me. Yeah, it's so relaxing for sure. Like a baby spa. Yeah, it is, definitely. So that was the full extent of what happened with this bride. And you know, good came out of it, the ugly came out of it. There was good, literally, this was a good, bad, and ugly. We deconstructed it to find out what our learning lessons were from this so we could do better going forward. And I hope that for future brides or brides that are planning their weddings right now will just have taken a point or two in their own notations on, okay, yeah, that's good to know. It's good to know that this is something that I can ask for or advocate for, or just request from your own bridal beauty squad or from your wedding planner or whatever, and just reflect on that. I think the whole goal in all of this is just to set everybody up for success. And that's the most, I think that's the most important thing for sure. So I just kind of want to backtrack a little bit and talk about two things. One for vendors. We have a question. Red Lotus Artistry has a question for all you world of wedding planners worldwide.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

We sure do.

SPEAKER_01 38:31

We sure do. It's a big one. And trust me, we know you guys are doing enough. Like, y'all do a lot. Like, it's not like y'all need another task that these like this one makeup artist company from Dallas is requesting you guys to do. But I I want to start the conversation that is this unrealistic, or what are the pros and cons to the wedding planner setting up a vendor meeting at some point before the wedding? It would be really awesome to collaborate and network and meet the other vendors that are working together to make this said couple's dreams come true. And if we all know each other more on a personal level, then we all will be collaborating now for real because you set up this meeting. And nothing crazy.

SPEAKER_00 39:14

I mean, literally, like it can be 10 minutes.

SPEAKER_01 39:17

Not even to an hour, you know, sometimes. Yeah, a lot of top talk. I mean, some maybe some meetings will be short, like seven minutes, and some meetings will be a little bit longer. But my takeaway from that is if we met with this bride and groom, for example, the week of the wedding, then the vendors for the bride and groom. The vend yeah, the vendors with this wedding planner, then you know, the wedding planner probably already knew that the bride was probably stressed out about X, Y, and Z or this, that, and that. And that way, we're the first faces that the the that the bride is gonna see. Then we could have gone in already knowing, okay, she's had a stressful week, so we can set the vibe accordingly. And we also, as makeup artists, would have a meeting with the the bride leading up to the wedding, like, hey, how are your stress levels? How do you imagine the vibe being set for you while we're getting you ready? Because again, we're the first faces you're gonna see before each and every event. Do you want it to be calm? Do you want it to be relaxed? Do you want it, do you want to always have a beverage in your hand? Do you want there to be hype music? Are we feeling Backstreet Boys? Are we feeling bad bunny? Like, we'll we'll bring the music, we'll bring the vibes, we'll bring the drinks. Like, we'll do whatever we need to to accommodate what your vibes are. And that's a question we'll definitely be asking.

SPEAKER_00 40:34

But also, I feel like we already kind of asked that.

SPEAKER_01 40:37

We do, but for other vendors out there, other vendors, other bridal beauty teams, other wedding planners, like y'all can ask these questions to the from the clients too. Because then when you're meeting with your vendors and having your vendors meeting, you can communicate that to all of us.

SPEAKER_00 40:51

Yeah. Well, yeah. Because like it's all like everyone gets a different version, a different piece, different conversation. So we all need to bring it and like unify into one. So everybody's communication is just all up and clear.

SPEAKER_01 41:04

And I mean, I think, and again, y'all tell me if I'm wrong, wedding planners, like now you have a you have extra seven to twenty like helping hands helping you make sure the success of this wedding is at an elite level. Yep. But y'all tell me, is this just unrealistic? What are the pros? What is the cons? Is it asking too much? Are we just like like just you know, living in La La Land? I mean, tell us. We want to hear the truth, we want to deconstruct this. So maybe we need to have a full episode with a wedding planner on this topic. But definitely want to start this conversation about this whole deal. But I really feel like for this wedding, had we done that, maybe we wouldn't have had to deal with this. Yeah, you know, I feel like it could have been totally different. Yeah. And I mean, I'm and the same thing goes for brides and grooms. If you communicate what vibe you're looking for, what what's really important to you, what's not going right, what's going great, then if you communicate that to your vendors, then we're gonna do everything in our power to like flip it around for you. That's literally what you're hiring us for.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

Right. I mean, even in real life, like imagine just having good communication with everybody. Like it's just a known thing. Open communication is always gonna set you up for success. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:17

And and we know that there's a lot of it also depends on your season in life. We are at a point now where we get a lot of brides that are doctors doing things where they don't, they literally have no time. Yeah. So maybe you don't have time to communicate to all your 20 vendors, X, Y, and Z, but let your wedding planner know.

SPEAKER_00 42:35

Yeah. At most, like your best bet is tell it to the wedding planner. And then that person definitely always delivers the message. That's her job.

SPEAKER_01 42:43

And at the end of the day, and I'm biased here because we're makeup artists, but we are literally the first vendor you're gonna see that kickstarts your wedding. At least let us know.

unknown 42:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:55

Because then we'll do whatever we need to to communicate it for you. Right. Is it good cop, bad cop? Been that in the past. We have. We've we have been told by few Brides are like, I don't want to see my mom. She's stressing me out, just I don't want my mom in my room. Yeah, and we'll do something about it. We'll find something professionally, kindly, and make it happen for you. That's our wedding world wisdom for this evening. Y'all definitely leave y'all's comments and video messages. We have a link in the bio. Uh, if you have any stories that you have just been waiting to vent or share, again, anonymous. Everything is anonymous on this podcast. Nobody's names are gonna be dropped. You don't need to drop any names. And if you do, that's fine. No judgment here, but we won't showcase who the names are. If you have a story to share that you want to showcase to the world that we all can learn from, vendors and clients, please share. The link is in the bio for Contour Convos on our Instagram. We're on TikTok also. Website is in the making. In the meantime, thank you so much for listening to our very first episode of Contour Convos. Emily and I are so freaking excited. We have laughed, we've learned, we have June. Juicy, juicy wedding gossip. Emily, thank you so much for coming on this very first episode. It really does mean the world to me.

SPEAKER_00 44:07

It's an honor.

SPEAKER_01 44:08

You know, again, I can't think of, I couldn't have thought of any other better way to launch this podcast that I've been wanting to do since 2019. Thank you so much for coming and helping and listening. Thank you for listening to our very first episode of Contoured Convos. If you've laughed, learned, or just love Juicy Wedding Gossip, subscribe and share this with your favorite wedding BFF. And remember, behind every flawless bridal look is a story, and we're here to spill every contour line of it. Have a good day, have a good evening, wherever you are in the world. We love you, and we'll see you on the next episode.